Building company collapse leaves Sydney family $59k out of pocket

A Sydney family is now lamenting one decision they made which could see them lose their entire deposit on their dream home.

A NSW family has lost $59,000 in the wake of their builder going into liquidation.

Chris Le, his partner, and both their sets of parents had paid a hefty deposit to Simone Homes to build them a house on a plot of land in Eagle Vale, in Sydney’s southwest.

But for 18 months, the build has stalled while they waited for the land to be registered in their names and for council to approve the plans.

Then earlier this month, Mr Le, 29, learned from a news.com.au article that Simone Homes had collapsed with preliminary debts of $1.165 million owed to 64 creditors.

Mr Le was not included in the original creditor list so that number is expected to end up being higher.

It’s a double whammy for the Le family, because, as building work never commenced and the land was not yet titled, the construction company was not able to take out a Builders Warranty Insurance policy.

That puts the unlucky family in the same boat as other unsecured creditors and they are unlikely to receive the full amount of their deposit back, if anything.

“This whole thing has been nothing less of a dumpster fire,” Mr Le told news.com.au.

Chris Le regrets paying the deposit, which is now not insured.

The builder could not take out insurance as the land was not titled.

News.com.au understands several people are in the same position as the Le family.

The appointed liquidator, Bradley John Tonks of insolvency firm PKF, told news.com.au five “live sites” had been impacted from the collapse of Simone Homes.

He also said there were “some pre-construction clients”, like those of Mr Le.

News.com.au understands seven homeowners had taken out contracts with Simone Homes but building had not yet began.

“We’re still gathering up all the records,” Mr Tonks added.

“We’d encourage the creditors to get in contact with us so we can keep them informed.

“It is early days, we want to make sure we’re talking to all the right people.”

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The Eagle Vale block of land with impacted homeowners.

Chris Le’s lot that he has paid for but no building works has started.

Mr Le is lamenting the loss of his family’s money, especially as his parents are nearing retirement age.

Of that $59,000 deposit, he said the majority was paid by his and his partner’s parents.

The plan was for him, his partner and both their sets of parents to live together in their newly-built two-storey, five bedroom home.

“They’re both getting old, we can’t live too far from our parents, we thought we could be caretakers,” he explained.

But that has not yet eventuated.

Adding to Mr Le's frustration is that his lot is still yet to be titled.

Communication with his developer has been lacking, he claims.

The latest communication shows that they think the land won’t be titled in his name until 2024, even though that was meant to happen by June this year.

Building can’t start until it is registered.

One of the projects Simone Homes advertised on their website.

Mr Le said the build was plagued with problems from the beginning which made him concerned about both the builder and developer he had staked his fortune on.

“Red flags started to appear,” he said.

At first, he had his hopes set on buying a house and land package in Gregory Hills but within one hour of paying the deposit, he was informed that they had made a mistake and that there was actually no land available there any more.

“That sounded super dodge, why did you advertise it when it wasn’t even available,” he said.

In the end, he went for another house and land package in Eagle Vale, through the same developer.

Another builder, Bordeaux Homes, has stepped in and agreed to honour the original contracts with Simone Homes, including deposits already paid. However, the contract prices may have to go up.

“We’re a young upcoming company,” the director, Ben Bordeaux, told news.com.au. “We like to have some jobs on our books.”

One of their staff members used to work for Simone Homes and Mr Le is unsure about his best way forward.

He is still considering all his options, including his legal options.

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Originally published as Building company collapse leaves Sydney family $59k out of pocket